Introduction
Of course, Confucius could not have imagined that 639 years after he left this world, a person who had become a saint of the Chinese nation like himself would be born on the land of China. He is Guan Yu.
Published in Issue 9, 2020
I. Confucius's Spring and Autumn
Through Yao Shunyu, Lixia Shang and Western Zhou, into the Eastern Zhou, Chinese history entered the Spring and Autumn Period.
The Spring and Autumn Period, divided by historians, generally began with the eastward migration of King Ping of Zhou in 770 BC. At that time, the orderly and calm situation of the low level of Chinese society changed dramatically. The Spring and Autumn Period was characterized by aggression and coups d'état — external aggression and internal coups. The aggression of other feudal states, the coup d'état within the feudal states. Chaos and insecurity are everywhere, divisions and civil strife everywhere. Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, in the land of China, if you count all the feudal states, it can be said that every year civil unrest and coup d'état were occurring or brewing, and annexation and counter-annexation, aggression and counter-aggression were occurring or brewing.
Society has lost its basic order.
Civil strife and aggression of any kind are bloody, and the real victims are innocent people at large. For more than two hundred years, the people have been displaced by the war and the blood. There is no righteous war in the spring and autumn. Such a situation actually lasted throughout the Spring and Autumn Period. This is a great regression of human nature after humans evolved into higher animals. This is a comprehensive subversion of the low-level harmonious order after the formation of primary social forms.
All this, at the time when there was no materialist view of history, everyone believed that the reason was because of the decline of the Zhou royal family.
In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the ceremonies collapsed, the world was in chaos, the disasters of war were repeated, and the people did not have a good life. Shenzhou land is heavy, and the long night is long.
In 551 BC, confucius, the sage in the history of the Chinese nation, was born.
Confucius, surname Kong, name Qiu, the character Zhongni, posterity honored him as Confucius. His ancestors were originally Song people, descendants of the most virtuous prince Weizi at the end of the Yin Shang Dynasty, and the fifth ancestor moved to the State of Lu and became a Lu people. Although the State of Lu was a small state, it was a fiefdom of the Duke of Zhou. The State of Lu collected and preserved the largest number of classics and documents of the Zhou Dynasty, and also had the highest cultural standards. At that time, only the State of Lu in the whole country inherited the political and cultural etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty.
Confucius grew up in such a cultural atmosphere. Confucius's father and grandfather were high-quality state officials. Confucius's father died early, he grew up under the care and education of his mother, and grew up in the etiquette environment of the Lu kingdom. From an early age, he was diligent and inquisitive, paying special attention to learning the etiquette system, playing as a child, and also using mud to make ceremonial vessels and sacrifices to imitate the sacrifices of adults. He felt kind and yearning for the "etiquette" and "music", a set of norms and procedures that seem complicated and difficult to others, and was determined to learn from it, master it, and contribute to the maintenance and restoration of the country's etiquette system and normal order.
Embracing the lofty ideal of self-denial and reinstatement and social transformation, embracing the good wishes of passing on the way of the previous kings, teaching the art of ceremonial music, cultivating the talents of the world, and following in the footsteps of the Zhou Dynasty, Confucius set up private schools, built pulpits, and accepted disciples to teach, breaking the thousand-year-old practice of "learning in the official palace" that ordinary people could not receive education. His disciples totaled more than 3,000 men, the most accomplished of whom were seventy-two sages, most of whom later became famous politicians, military experts, educators, historians, and cultural experts.
The most important school of thought in Chinese history, the Confucian school, was founded by Confucius.
However, the lu monarch could not really implement Confucius's way of governing the world, and the nobles also resisted Confucius's policy of restricting the interests of the nobility, and Confucius's governing strategy was snubbed and attacked. In order to realize his political ambitions and moral ideals, he regrettably but also resolutely left the country of Lu, led some students, and embarked on the road of traveling around the world. After a long fourteen years, he has successively resided in seven countries, including Weiguo, Songguo, Cao Guo, Zheng Guo, Chen Guo, Cai Guo, and Chu Guo. In general, his political ideals and salvation aspirations have not been realized, and his political ideas have not been pursued. He can only sublimate his ideal and ambition to restore social order and realize the world of datong into a cultural writing and theoretical doctrine, and can only hope for future generations, hoping that future generations will inherit and practice their own doctrines, and perhaps also need heroic struggles and sacrifices to go forward and succeed.
Confucius's main work in sorting out the classics was to compile and delete five such works: the I Ching, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Books, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius's main work in his later years was to write the Spring and Autumn Period.
"Spring and Autumn" was originally a history book of the State of Lu, with scattered records, chaotic historical views, and many damages and losses in the chaos of the war. Confucius rewrote this history book. This is the first chronicle in the history of the continent, recording in chronological order from the year of Lu Yin (772 BC) to the fourteenth year of the Duke of Lu 'ai (481 BC). As a result, some scholars also refer to this historical period as the "Spring and Autumn" period.
In this book, Confucius poured out his political views and positions, and expressed his praise and criticism of the events that occurred in history in a "small speech and great righteousness" style.
"Confucius wrote in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the thieves were afraid of the thieves." (Mencius) Whether at that time or in the future, Confucius set up a criterion of justice for society, a yardstick for measuring right and wrong, and a value judgment and evaluation standard that conforms to heaven and human feelings.
Through these writings and remarks, we understand Confucius's political ideals and social aspirations, mainly some of the following ideas and propositions:
-- Unifying the world and unifying the world. The avenue passes, the country is unified, and the world is unified. There will be great chaos in the world, there will be constant strife, wars will continue to occur, rivers of blood will flow, the people will be displaced, and there will be no peaceful life.
------------------------ To fear the Tao of Heaven and conform to nature, we must respect and imitate the social wisdom and life experience of our ancestors and predecessors, not violate the laws of nature, and do not overly satisfy our selfish desires.
- "and" and "moderation". Pay attention to reconciliation, the pursuit of peace, harmony and harmony; pay attention to reconciliation, the pursuit of harmony, harmony and peace. Not extreme, not extreme, not biased, no fault. Neutral, pertinent, neutral, mid-range. Do not provoke disputes, the world is at peace.
------------------------------------ The people are the foundation of the country, and the monarch mainly administers benevolent government and loves the people; the country should think of the people, simplify the administration and the people, and enrich the people.
----------------- Be loyal to filial piety and benevolence, observe etiquette, keep oneself in peace, and refrain from self-denial. Be loyal to the king, filial piety to the father, be kind to others, and be righteous to friends. Fathers and sons of kings and subjects shall not exceed their dignity and inferiority; they shall not act in accordance with propriety; they shall not act in violation of etiquette; they shall restrain their selfish desires and restore the order prescribed by the Weekly Rites; they shall not do anything that is not in accordance with propriety, and they shall not do anything that is not in accordance with propriety.
All this is the Spring and Autumn Righteousness.
A series of works containing the early great ideas and ultimate truths of the Chinese nation (and of all mankind) have been completed. They illuminate ancient and modern times, like the Big Dipper in the night sky, like a comet shining, like the Western myth of the heavenly fire that stolen to illuminate the world of Prometheus.
Of course, Confucius could not have imagined that 639 years after he left this world, a person who had become a saint of the Chinese nation like himself would be born on the land of China. He is Guan Yu.
Icon of Guan Gong's hometown
The statue of Guan Gong reading "Spring and Autumn" in the Spring and Autumn Building of the Guandi Temple in Xiezhou
II. Guan Gong's Reading of "Spring and Autumn"
Speaking of famous warriors in ancient and modern China and abroad, whether it is marching or martial arts, Guan Yu cannot be said to be the first in the world. Compared with the previous dynasty, he did not establish the same feats as Han Xin and Wei Qing. Compared with later generations, he did not have the brilliant results of fighting against foreign insults like Yue Fei. Even compared to this dynasty, he did not achieve the achievements of his comrade-in-arms Zhuge Liang, who was "wenke an state and martial arts and fixed the country". As far as personal martial arts are concerned, he is afraid that he will not be able to defeat Lü Bu, and in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is written that Lü Bu is imprisoned in the Tiger Prison, and the three of them in Taoyuan must go up together--although it is a literary fiction, it can explain the writer's evaluation of his martial arts. He was only fourth in the ranking of the people; Zhan Panda was also a long battle, but he was shot by Pound, he was old after all; but with Huang Zhong, who was older than him, he fought Changsha - the history books did not officially record, even if it was true - he did not win entirely by martial arts; and chopping Huaxiong, chopping Cai Yang, and even chopping Wen Ugly, it was definitely not Guan Yu, it was sun jian, Liu Bei and Cao Cao's achievements.
And all the heroic warriors will be annihilated in the long river of history. The Chinese god of war, there is no doubt that guan Yu. No matter which general is brave, he can only accompany the last seat in front of him.
Because, Chinese people value him is the lofty righteousness that turns the tide of the tide and will tilt the building, the mission consciousness of inheriting and continuing the traditional morality and national righteousness of the ancient Chinese country, and the noble realm of sacrificing personal fame and interests, merits, and even life for the sake of the way of the country, the righteousness of the nation, and the interests of the masses.
Because, Chinese pay more attention to the spirit.
Man has to have a little spirit. Only the spirit proves the greatness of evolution and the supreme level of life of man.
Spirit is not only a conscious activity, but a synthesis of thoughts, beliefs, personality, conduct, and conduct, a noble realm, a supreme height, and a precious quality.
China is a country that advocates spirit; Chinese, it is the most spiritually worshipped ethnic group in the world. Unlike Westerners who worship God, Chinese worship not only the legendary supernatural gods. Chinese worship more are those who have really existed in history, those who weep with their noble deeds.
Guan Yu is one such figure.
The spirit of Guan Yu is the soul of the Chinese nation, the entire spiritual accumulation of the Chinese nation with a long history, and the Great Righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period.
This is something that is difficult for all loyal generals to reach, and this is Guan Yu's metaphysical transcendence over all loyal generals. Compared with all loyal and good generals, Guan Yu has a lifelong consciousness of pursuing the spring and autumn righteousness. Spring and Autumn Righteousness, that is, the word loyalty and righteousness, is the spiritual expression of Guan Yu throughout his life.
Confucius's book "Spring and Autumn" is the carrier of Confucian doctrine and the carrier of the Spring and Autumn Righteousness.
"Yu Hao Zuo's biography, satire is catchy." Guan Yu was familiar with "Spring and Autumn", to the point where he could not release the scroll, to the point where he could basically recite it.
As Zhang Qin wrote in the Qing Dynasty for the Guandi Temple in Yangxin County, Hubei Province:
Be holy and be faithful to the two words;
Mu Gong had no other way and was familiar with a book in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Guan Gong read "Spring and Autumn", which is very unique among the famous generals in ancient times, which is also the source of his unswerving spirit of abiding by faith and righteousness. His political conviction in Kuang Hanxing Liu was a conscious pursuit of the Great Righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period; his awe-inspiring and indomitable noble qualities were the inevitable result of the pursuit of the Great Righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period.
The last building on the last side of the Guandi Temple in Xiezhou, Yuncheng is the Spring and Autumn Building, and Guan Gong read "Spring and Autumn" all his life and built the Spring and Autumn Tower in the Guandi Temple, which is the proper meaning of the title. The palaces of the past also had places dedicated to the reading of the emperors, but they would not be called the Spring and Autumn Building, and only the places related to the reading of the sacred books in the imperial temple were equipped with such a name. Entering the Spring and Autumn Building, in the facing shrine is the seated statue of Guan Sheng, dressed as an emperor, with a dignified look. Going upstairs, the statue of the deity is no longer the appearance of the emperor sitting precariously, but the head of the robe, the eyes are focused, the desk unfolded, of course, is the "Spring and Autumn" he likes to read all his life, on the wall panel behind him, engraved with the original text of "Spring and Autumn", the handwriting is dense, the text is ancient, and it is really awe-inspiring to think of the time when Guan Gong marched and fought in the military tent to pick up the lamp at night.
How many Guanmiao Temples are there in the world? And how many statues of Guan Sheng reading "Spring and Autumn"? I'm afraid I can't count.
Xiezhou Guandi Temple Spring and Autumn Building
Xuchang Chunqiu Building Dacheng Hall
Hubei Dangyang Guan Yu Tomb
Luoyang Guanlin Tomb
The 30th International Guangong Cultural Tourism Festival in Yuncheng, Shanxi
Third, the modern embodiment and practical power of the Guan Gong spirit
Learning traditional culture and learning Confucian classics that represent the essence of the mainland's history and culture is a boom. Publications on Confucius, the Analects, and Confucian classics are already popular topics in the publishing world, and they are bestsellers in the reading market. This shows the general cultural concern and moral consciousness of society, and also shows the psychological adjustment and rational return of people under the new historical conditions. People are becoming more and more aware of the long-term significance of Confucianism as the "Taoist system" of Chinese culture, and more and more aware of the indoctrinating function of Confucianism in modern society. The Confucian spirit of liturgy and harmony are regarded by more people in the world as the gospel of eliminating disputes and achieving peace; the moral pursuit of Confucian benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom is the common moral norm of mankind and will continue to play an important role in improving people's moral quality; the Confucian idea of moderation and tolerance is a bridge and link for foreign civilizations to live in good neighborliness and multicultural coexistence and common prosperity.
Guan Gong, the historical figure who inherited and practiced Confucian thought and moral ideals, the living soul of this Confucian ideology and moral model, and this living heroic image that represents the spirit of Chinese culture, is still our moral model and personality standard. The spirit of Guangong is the visualization and popularization of the spirit of the Chinese nation, and today, when the mainland society and the whole world are generally concerned about confucian classics and national traditional virtues, the image of Guangong and the spirit of Guangong will also play a greater social function. Although it is not a belief in the religious sense, its centripetal force and appeal will produce a huge social enlightenment effect, will correct and enlighten the hearts of the world's people, and will have a major and far-reaching impact on our real society and the entire human society.
We are pleased to see that even today, in the market economy and commodity society, there are still touching figures around us, and touching events are still happening.
——Huaxian County, Henan, where Guan Yu was beheaded, there was a Liu Yanxin, an honest farmer who was almost wooden, and after a year of marriage, his wife suffered from postpartum wind and died more than forty days later. When his wife was critically ill, Liu Yanxin promised her that he would take good care of her family. A few years later, his father-in-law fell ill, Xie Yanxin took good care of him in the hospital, and after being discharged from the hospital, he nursed his paralyzed father-in-law for a long time, so he insisted on it for eighteen years. When his father-in-law was dying, Xie Yanxin promised his father-in-law to take good care of his elderly mother-in-law and his brother. His whole life, in this way, worked hard for the original promise and silently dedicated his life. A promise of a thousand gold, a life of trustworthiness. A most ordinary worker, with his life's poverty and hard work to fulfill his commitments, highlighted the traditional virtues of Chinese faith and righteousness, touched more than a billion Chinese people, but also touched the world.
- And the story that moved us even more. On November 14, 2006, Li Jianying, a colonel pilot of a certain air force department and the pilot director of the regiment, conducted a training flight over a certain ground as planned. When the flight was about to end, the plane suddenly hit the pigeons in the process of descending, the fuselage suddenly and sharply trembled, the engine speed slowed down sharply, and the aircraft descended rapidly, dropping an average of eleven meters per second, and it was about to be destroyed. At this time, the time is 12:04:09. The pilots of the colonel, who are very experienced in flight, know that as long as they jump immediately, they are not in danger of their lives, and the flight regulations stipulate that in this case, they can take parachuting measures. However, Li Jianying was more familiar with the situation in his own flight area, and he knew that underneath the plane, there were seven villages, a gas station and a brick factory, with a population of thousands. Parachuting can save your life, but the plane gets out of control, naturally crashes, and may fall into these villages and so on, which will cause great disasters to the people. Li Jianying chose to sacrifice himself to protect the people, and he decisively decided to carry out a forced landing. The plane crossed the road gas station, past the brick factory, past three villages, landed rapidly to the airport, rushed out of the runway, hit a water canal slope three meters above the ground, and exploded, freezing at 12:04:25. Li Jianying was sacrificed, and from the decision to force the landing to the crash of the plane, there were only sixteen seconds. In these sixteen seconds, Li Jianying used his life to compose a heroic song that touched the heavens and the earth, spilling blood on the sky and returning to the earth. For the sake of more lives, he generously died and gave his life without hesitation. Killing to become benevolent, sacrificing his life for righteousness, Li Jianying is worthy of being a hero in the new era.
Loyalty and heroism, conscience and faithfulness are undoubtedly the moral trends advocated in the new era and belong to the category of socialist ideological qualities. However, it has developed from the long-standing traditional morality of the Chinese nation, which has both the basic core of traditional moral culture and the characteristics of moral fashion in the new era, and the two cannot be completely separated. The heroic feats of righteousness and awe that have occurred around us and the acts of good faith that have clearly come from the inheritance and influence of the traditional morality of our Chinese nation, the continuation and inheritance of our blood connection with the ancestors of the nation, and even the continuation and inheritance of the spirit of Guangong. All these heroic feats and acts of integrity make us feel as if we have seen the shadow of Guan Gong.
All this can be seen as a modern embodiment of the spirit of Guan Gong.
Guan Gong is a national textbook that never needs to be revised for social indoctrination, regardless of school age, inside and outside the school, regardless of language type, and regardless of residential area. Respecting Guan Gong and advocating the spirit of Guan Gong is a social compulsory course for all Chinese, a public teaching material for Chinese personal moral code and social ethical consciousness, and an ancestral secret recipe for every Chinese to cultivate themselves and settle down in their families. People can choose different political beliefs and social ideals, which also forms their own life goals and values, but Guan Gong's spirit of loyalty, righteousness, benevolence and courage is an indispensable basic component of people's moral personality building. With this basic component, we will uphold justice and glorify heroes. In times of crisis, we will stand up, and in the face of righteousness, we will be righteous. When dealing with people, we will understand the great righteousness; in dealing with things, we will be bright and upright. When we are in a big way, we are frozen in our bodies, and between the heavens and the earth, we will use our heads and bodies to stand up into a just right "human" word!
China is a multi-ethnic country with the largest population on the planet, a vast area of treasure islands that have not yet returned, regions with different social systems, very different languages and scripts, and a variety of living customs and cultures. People in different regions, different nationalities, and different strata, ideological beliefs and psychological states, political viewpoints, and attitudes toward life are difficult to completely unify, and it is not necessary to completely unify. However, as for the interests of the state and the general interests of the nation, we cannot but gather under the banner of the motherland and unite in the big family of the Chinese nation. Otherwise, the country will be divided, the nation will be separated, and the people will be plunged into the depths of the waters, which has been repeatedly proved by the history of the ancient Chinese country and the Chinese nation for thousands of years, and it is also proved by our national prophets and national heroes with their own struggles and sacrifices.
Guan Gong is omnipresent, and Guan Gong lives in the hearts of all Chinese.
The spirit of Guan Gong is with us. PICS
(Some of the pictures are provided by the information room of the Cultural Management Office of the Guandi Temple in Xiezhou)
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